Best Places08701, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 08701, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
08701 ranks 18,467th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Its strengths are fast internet and big-city access. The cost shows up in an overheated housing market, state finances, and the schools.
The best neighborhoods in 08701
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
08701's strengths and weaknesses
08701 lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Fast internet, big-city access, and a strong job market carry most of that.
The one real hole is an overheated housing market, near the bottom of the country. State finances and the schools also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of 08701 to another than it does between 08701 and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where 08701 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 08701 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,478 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 08701
A household needs to earn about $178,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 08701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $78,467, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 08701's effective rate of 1.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 08701
08701 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 08701.
Who works in 08701, and how
Work in 08701 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 08701
08701 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 08701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 08701, month by month
08701 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 08701
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 08701
Schools across 08701 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ramtown Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Lucy N. Holman Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Joseph A. Citta Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Howell Township Middle School SouthC · 34% proficient
- Toms River Intermediate School NorthC− · 28% proficient
- Christa Mcauliffe Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Toms River High School NorthC+ · 35% proficient
- Jackson Liberty High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Brick Township Memorial High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 08701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
08701 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 08701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 08701 suits
Families
Schools land around the 6th percentile and crime safety beats 61%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 15% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 08701
Is 08701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 08701 ranks 18,467th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, big-city access, and a strong job market, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 08701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $620,175. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $78,467 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 08701 safe?
Yes, 08701 is safer than 61% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $196 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 08701?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 15% of zip codes.
Is 08701 good for families?
Schools beat 6% of zip codes, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $1,478 a month.
Is 08701 good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 20% of zip codes, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of zip codes. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare 08701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 08701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 08701 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
08701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 08701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 08701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 08701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 08701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
08701 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.